Olive farmers in Karak governorate are expecting a good olive and oil production season, following a winter of abundant rainfall, similar to the significant increase seen in field crop yields this year, after a string of drought seasons and low productivity in recent years. Farmers believe the higher output will translate into lower local olive oil prices compared to last year.
اضافة اعلان
Olive and oil prices last season saw a sharp rise due to a major production shortfall, with prices reaching around 120 dinars per tin of oil, and some olive presses in Karak even closing well before the season ended due to scarce olive supplies.
Estimates from farmers and the Karak Agriculture Directorate suggest olive and olive oil production quantities could be better than in recent seasons, following last year's strong rainy season, which broke a drought that had persisted over the past four years, during which the governorate saw a significant drop in rainfall.
Karak governorate saw substantial rainfall last season, reaching around 600mm in some areas, with rainfall levels exceeding 200% of normal in certain regions.
Farmers across various parts of Karak said this season looks good for olive growers, with no signs of crop infestation so far, particularly the olive fruit fly and fungal infections that typically reduce oil yield from olives each season. They confirmed that fruit-bearing on the trees is high, especially given the spraying, prevention, and pest-control efforts organized by Karak's agriculture directorates to support farmers.
They also noted that large areas of olive trees relying entirely on permanent irrigation, particularly in Wadi Al-Karak, Al-Ayna, Ai, Wadi Bin Hammad, and Iraq Al-Karak, help stabilize productivity, with these areas generally seeing stable olive and oil yields most seasons, even during years of weak rainfall.
52,000 Dunams of Olive Trees
Karak governorate has around 52,000 dunams of land planted with olive trees across various areas, split between irrigated land in Wadi Al-Karak, Al-Ayna, Ai district, Iraq Al-Karak, and Wadi Bin Hammad, and rain-fed groves in the rest of the governorate, particularly in Qasabat Al-Karak and Al-Mazar Al-Janoubi districts.
Among the causes of reduced production in some seasons are climate change, recent drought years, and irrigation water shortages, in addition to some trees being affected by agricultural pests such as the olive fruit fly.
According to farmer Ahmad Al-Jaafreh from the Wadi Al-Karak area, farmers hope this season marks a good start for them and an end to several bad seasons behind them, noting that the fruit load on the trees is good this season, pointing to a solid oil yield and, in turn, profits for farmers. He added that strong productivity will lead to a drop in oil prices, which had been high last season.
Al-Jaafreh also noted that a large number of families in Karak governorate, particularly in the areas of Al-Ayna, Wadi Al-Karak, Iraq, and Wadi Bin Hammad, rely entirely on farming, particularly olive cultivation, as their sole source of income to meet their families' needs throughout the year, affirming that most olive farms in Wadi Al-Karak rely entirely on irrigation from springs and water sources available in the area, which shields them from the effects of drought seasons, though increased rainfall still boosts tree productivity since rain supplies the trees with many nutrients.
Farmer Mohammad Al-Naimat, an olive grower in the Al-Ayna area of Al-Mazar Al-Janoubi district, expects this season to be better than the last, as large areas of olive groves are carrying a good fruit load, a promising sign for farmers after a string of drought seasons and heavy losses. He noted that farmers face significant expenses and financial costs each season caring for the trees, including irrigation, pesticide spraying, harvesting, and pressing.
He affirmed that the good olive quantities will translate into a significant drop in oil prices compared to last season's high prices, which were driven by a weak harvest and limited supply among farmers, expecting the price of a tin of oil to reach around 90 to 100 dinars, down from last season's levels of up to 130 dinars per tin.
Farmer Saif Al-Maaytah from the Wadi Bin Hammad area also expects oil and olive prices to drop this season compared to last season, given the expected large olive harvest, unlike last season, with oil tin prices likely ranging between just 90 and 100 dinars. He noted that farmers hope olive production in the mountainous areas west of the governorate will be good this year thanks to abundant rainfall, pointing out that there is a good fruit load expected to yield good quantities of oil, thereby reducing losses for farmers.
Olive Press Preparations
He noted that large areas of trees are still in the early stages of production, having been planted in recent years, and are expected to start yielding in the coming years, which will help boost olive and oil production in Karak, particularly in rain-fed areas.
Ahmad Al-Damour, who operates an olive press in Karak, confirmed that production this season is expected to be good, with the high yield reflecting on olive and oil prices in the markets, expecting the price of a 16kg tin of oil to reach around 90 dinars, especially since olive trees have alternate-bearing cycles, and this season is one in which farmers expect good production.
He noted that Karak's olive presses have enough capacity for the expected production quantities, and that some presses in Karak stopped working early last season due to a lack of available olives.
For his part, Karak's Director of Agriculture, Engineer Mamoun Al-Adaileh, said the directorate estimates this year's olive season will be good, with production quantities reaching around 9,100 tons of olives, of which about 1,800 tons will be used for pickling, while the remaining 7,300 tons will be delivered to olive presses to produce an estimated 1,216 tons of oil.
He added that the total area of olive cultivation in Karak is 52,460 dunams, of which 9,310 dunams are irrigated farmland, while rain-fed farmland totals 43,155 dunams.
Al-Adaileh noted that the governorate has 8 operating presses this year, spread across all areas, and that these presses are under continuous oversight by the Agriculture Directorate's technical staff, to ensure product safety and protect the rights of farmers and consumers to good, healthy oil.
He also confirmed that a committee of specialized technicians from the directorate and other relevant bodies conducts field inspections of the olive presses to verify their readiness and cleanliness, ensuring the quality of the extracted oil, and that daily lab testing is carried out on oil extracted from all presses across the governorate, while also ensuring compliance with press operating and licensing conditions that meet general safety standards and guarantee the quality of the pressing process.
He called on farmers not to harvest olives before they're ripe, in order to obtain mature, good-quality fruit for pickling and pressing, and also called for packing harvested olives in suitable, well-ventilated crates and pressing them immediately after harvest to ensure the quality of the extracted oil.
Resource: Al-Ghad. Reporting by: Heshal Al-Adaileh
